BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Buffaloes help kick off Week 1 of the college football season with a matchup against FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, a program with nine FCS National Championships since 2010.
The Buffs, love 'em or hate 'em, are a hot topic in college football – mainly because of their coach Deion Sanders. Sanders, the former Dallas Cowboys star and North Texas resident, brings a level of celebrity to the program, something he's been openly unapologetic of. Eyes will be on this game, much like their season opening win against a TCU program coming off a national championship run, even if the Horned Frogs flopped in 2023 with a 5-7 record.
At the time, the Colorado-TCU matchup was marquee, and the road upset served as grounds Sanders and his team to pump their chest to all the haters (which they did). WFAA's live stream of the post-game press conference – and other supplemental videos from that day – garnered millions of views.
Colorado hit a 3-0 start and were the talk of college football. Unfortunately for the Buffs, the waves came crashing back down and they lost eight of their final nine games to finish 4-8.
Some things never changed. Sanders and his players – particularly his sons Shedeur and Shilo, as well as two-way phenom Travis Hunter – are just as outspoken as they've ever been. Shedeur said this offseason that Colorado was "everybody's Super Bowl," a comment pundits like Paul Finebaum have ridiculed.
And just this month, Deion Sanders has made headlines with his own tiffs with the media, particularly reporters he's shut down in press conferences and later banned from asking questions.
With a new season in full swing, Colorado will be on the forefront of everyone's mind because of their celebrity status of their coach, quarterback and best overall player (Hunter). For those watching (or hate watching) from North Texas, the coach and former player known as "Prime" has garnered quite a bit of players on the 2024 roster from DFW. Here is a list of those guys:
- Kaleb Mathis (WR) – Arlington, Texas (Grace Prep)
- Kole Mathis (CB) – Arlington, Texas (Fairview)
- Shilo Sanders (LB)* – Canton, Texas (Trinity Christian)
- DJ McKinney (CB)* – Colleyville, Texas (Colleyville Heritage)
- Shedeur Sanders (QB)* – Dallas, Texas (Trinity Christian)
- Yakiri Walker (C) – Dallas, Texas (DeSoto)
- Wyatt Hummel (OG) – Dallas, Texas (Jesuit)
- Justin Mayers (OL)* – Frisco, Texas (Reedy)
- Taurean Carter II (DT) – Mansfield, Texas (Mansfield Legacy)
- Phillip Houston (OT) – McKinney, Texas (McKinney Boyd)
- Carter Stoutmire (S) – Plano, Texas (Prestonwood Christian)
- Cash Cleveland (OL) – Rockwall, Texas (IMG Academy)
- Preston Hodge (CB)* – Waxahachie, Texas (Waxahachie)
*denotes starters
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